


Knights And Pages

by Sylphidine_Gallimaufry



Category: Guardians of Childhood & Related Fandoms, Guardians of Childhood - William Joyce, Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bookstore, Alternate Universe - Human, Gen, Gift Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2020-12-27
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:53:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 3,802
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28299273
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sylphidine_Gallimaufry/pseuds/Sylphidine_Gallimaufry
Summary: Rise of the Guardians / Guardians of Childhood AU.  Twelve days in the life of a bookstore in December.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 10





	1. DECEMBER 13TH: THE INFORMATION DESK

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Nimohtar](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nimohtar/gifts).



> Written for the ROTGSecretSanta Stocking Stuffer 2020 event on Tumblr.
> 
> <https://rotgsecretsanta.tumblr.com>

Manny beamed as he looked out from his station first thing in the morning, his gaze covering the sales floor of Knights And Pages from one end to the other. Twelve days until Christmas, and, childlike, he was not yet sick of the holiday music piped over the sound system.

He held Petrov, the grey tabby store cat, on his lap as he perched on his stool, and crooned a nursery rhyme into one pointed ear, jigging the cat up and down in time with a beat only he could hear. 

_Horsey horsey don’t you stop / Just let your feet go clippety-clop / Your tail goes swish and the wheels go round / Giddy up, we’re homeward bound._

Petrov had been born in a stable and had spent his entire kittenhood around horses; he moved in a most uncatlike fashion. His heavy “trotting” tread could be heard yards away on the bookstore’s old floorboards. Nevertheless, he was an excellent mouser.

The cat soon tired of being held, and wriggled out of Manny’s grasp. He had his indoor fiefdom to explore, after all.

The first customers of the day were making their way to the cashwrap, and Manny was soon busy answering phones, writing up special orders, and putting books and gifts aside for layaway.


	2. DECEMBER 14TH: THE RECEIVING DEPARTMENT

The building that housed Knights And Pages had once been a loom works, and it showed. The basement below the bookstore’s main floor was dotted here and there with huge spools and odd bits of repurposed machinery that served as cubicle dividers for North and his crew: Phil, Henrietta, and Dingle. The two conveyor belts bisected the area even further, but somehow the underground space still felt open and welcoming. Perhaps it was the constant hum of activity; perhaps it was the fact that the cheesy Muzak did not reach down here, and North instead got to play CDs featuring his beloved Russian composers at top volume.

Multiple times a day, the “down” conveyor belt would be in use, taking in deliveries from the building’s garage at street level… UPS, Fedex, DHL, etc. Books from publishers and wholesalers, other items from varying vendors. Each delivery’s contents would be tallied off by the four workers, matching invoices on their computers, and having labels with titles, SKUs, and prices made for them. Then the contents would be sorted and reboxed with their destinations marked on them, namely the specific department head for whom they were meant. It would never do to send Tooth’s amethyst geodes to Sandy’s bakery, for example, nor would it be wise to send the shipment of autographed copies of Bracken MacLeod’s latest horror novel that Pitch had ordered to Nightlight, who supervised the Poetry and Drama division.

At 4pm each day, the “up” conveyor belt came into play, sending the sorted parcels to the sales floor. Someone from each department would be there to wheel away the items to their section of the store, and to have their understaff get fresh stock onto the shelves. The “special orders” came up last, to go straight to the Information Desk and have customer phone calls made.

With only eleven days until Christmas, the incoming deliveries were arriving at a fast and furious pace, and there was little time to rest between sorts. Dingle tried to make everyone laugh by sticking out his ridiculously long tongue and pretending to lick each package before it went onto the “up” belt. He was only stopped with the growled promise from Henrietta that she would dunk him upside down in the local river and hold his head underwater until Easter. She could do it, too, being just as beefily built as her brother Phil.

Finally 4pm arrived and North bellowed cheerily into the intercom, as he did each day, “Time to put wonder into the world!” Those whose turn it was to unload gathered near the chute opening and got ready to pull boxes off the conveyor belt. Today it was Pippa, Fog, Cupcake, Caleb, Amin, Sascha, Will, Petter, Monty, and Doris.

Petrov watched from his perch of office supply cartons stacked near the backroom where the admin staff worked, the black tip of his tail twitching.


	3. DECEMBER 15TH: THE GIFT SHOPPE

Tooth was thoroughly impressed when she arrived at her kiosk that morning. Pippa Chandler and Tooth’s younger daughter Baethiana had set up the booth beautifully. The new blown-glass teardrop suncatchers were hung at staggered levels off a bar suspended from one of the mill’s overhanging pulleys; they glittered in the winter sheen from the skylight above. The new shipment of greeting cards had all been slotted neatly into their proper fixtures, as tidily as if she’d been there to supervise.

She hadn’t wanted to take a “sick” day yesterday; it was an unwritten rule in the company that no one got time off between Thanksgiving and New Year’s. But Tooth’s older daughter Vanish, returned home for the college holidays, had brought along a boyfriend from what Tooth privately termed “the European division”, and she felt she needed to give the matter her personal attention. Abelard seemed a harmless, mousy fellow, but Vanish had confided in her that he could sometimes display a fiery temper. The couple had weathered some external personal storms together, however, and after Tooth had given Abelard the shovel talk last night, Tooth felt assured that he and Vanish had a future.

Now she smiled as she set up for the day. She heard a familiar thump-step behind her and reached down to skritch Petrov under his chin. He yawped up at her and showed her his canines, incisors, and premolars, all pearly white after his last vet visit. His deep rumbling purr gave Tooth a warm feeling that lasted throughout the morning and afternoon, despite the hustle and bustle of sales.


	4. DECEMBER 16TH: THE SPECULATIVE FICTION ZONE

Pitch paced the floor between the shelves that demarcated the Horror section and the Urban Fantasy section, stopping, turning and retracing his steps in the direction from whence he came once he hit the bend of shelves labelled Paranormal and Time Travel Romance. That separated his department from Katherine’s, the other boundary being the Graphic Novels aisle that was part of Jack’s domain. He made a turn to walk through Mystery, another through Science Fiction, and one more to stand behind Fog in the Swords & Sorcery section. 

The boy was deep in concentration, trying to find room to shelve the newest Brandon Sanderson tome. He jumped when Pitch’s shadow fell over him.

Hands clasped behind a rigidly straight back, tight-fitting blazer worn over a black silk shirt buttoned up to the neck and paired with black slacks whose sharp creases screamed of personal tailoring, Pitch knew he appeared intimidating and unapproachable to the younger booksellers, cashiers and interns. But he knew how to show appreciation for diligence, and he made a point now to compliment Fog on his tidiness and his skills in building attractive book displays.

Pitch had never forgotten all the years where he’d toiled unseen and unvalued until this job had fallen into his lap. He had his daughter Seraphina to thank for that.

Sage, his assistant department head, arrived for her shift, grumbling about humanity in general and bad winter drivers in particular. She pulled her heavy braid out of the bun which had gotten messed by her hood, recoiled it, and pinned it back in place. Pitch greeted her with one of his rare smiles; they understood one another well, two seemingly curmudgeonly people who could surprise listeners with delight when they opened up about their pet fascinations and interests.

He walked back to his nook where his laptop was set up and sat down to write his weekly blog, as all the department heads were required to do. Today’s book review was for a small press anthology called A KRAMPUS CAROL. He was tempted to don the Krampus horns headpiece that Sage had given him last year, but refrained. Time enough for that later in the month. 

Pitch’s concentration was broken by the arrival of Petrov underfoot, batting one of those dratted plush snowballs that decorated the Kids and Teens Zone, on the other side of the wall next to his hideyhole. He looked down his long nose at the unrepentant cat and intoned, “You dare to have fun in my presence?” Said unrepentant cat looked back at him and blinked slowly. 

Admitting defeat, Pitch leaned down, scooped up the snowball toy, and threw it down the aisle for the grey tabby to chase. 


	5. DECEMBER 17TH: THE KIDS AND TEENS ZONE

Jack still had no idea how he had been chosen to become a department head, of all things. He was much more interested in chilling out and pursuing fun times, whereas his two department coworkers, Cynara and Eleanor, seemed to be much more attuned to hard work and deadlines. They both were former elementary school teachers and knew more about picture books and early readers than he would ever know. His own reading tastes tended to lean more towards material for the upper grades and the high school crowd.

But the three managed to complement each other in their knowledge bases, and they genuinely enjoyed working with each other. Tall, thin Eleanor never missed the opportunity to sling a pun in casual conversation, and pixyish Cynara had a wicked sense of humour that the kids who came to their storytelling events adored. [The kids also adored when Cynara would take off her wig and twirl it on her finger, not ashamed in the least of her bald post-radiation head.]

Jack had a new intern this holiday season, who introduced themselves as “Cupcake”. They were tall for their age, sturdily built, and dressed in a mix of denim and lace. Their jacket was bedazzled on the back with their credo, “Battle Ballerina”. They didn’t say much, but they were always helpful, and many of the other understaff throughout the store had learned to appreciate them, after a period of being intimidated by their height and their seemingly perpetual glower… until they smiled. Then they almost… well, Jack thought to himself, GLOWED. 

That was enough introspection for the day. People would start thinking he’d grown up and turned all serious. Time was a’wasting, and snowballs wouldn’t throw themselves.

As if on cue, Petrov strutted into view, and Jack could swear the cat winked at him. 

Who to prank today? 


	6. DECEMBER 18TH: THE BAKERY / COFFEE COUNTER

Neither Caleb nor Claude could stop yawning this morning. Their mother Honoria had dropped them off at Sandy’s at the crack of dawn to pick up the daily batch of pastries and croissants that Sandy had made in his own kitchen. Then the three drove in to stock the little enclosed kiosk at the bookstore that served as a small cafe. The only benefit that the twins could see to having their day start so heinously early was that they got to go home that much earlier than everyone else.

Sandy turned on the glimmering curtain lights behind the counter, which cast a golden glow over the space. It seemed like a bright island compared to the rest of the darkened bookstore, something out of a children’s story about Dreamland. 

Claude said to Caleb, “You want to do urns or utensils today?” The question was mostly a formality… Claude knew his brother was much better at making coffee than he was. But they split the cafe work evenly between them, as they’d done with other things all their lives. Caleb grinned back at him, “I’ll make it so you can drink it.”

“Cool.”

His hands moving slowly but efficiently to craft a delicious display of wrapped baked goods, Sandy was in his quiet happy place. These few hours before Knights And Pages opened to the public made him feel like the master of his domain. He could weave himself half a dozen dreams in silence and serenity before having to deal with the noise and bustle of commerce.

Although he often found himself the listener to other people’s dreams, as well, during the course of the day. Being small, round, and genial seemed to draw people to him like frozen travellers seeking a hearth to rest by.

Sometimes, that was almost enough to drown the call of a long-ago, distant life.

Movement caught Sandy’s eye. A small grey shadow separated itself from the other shadows outside the glass door of the cafe. Sandy smiled; Petrov had arrived for his vanilla frosting fix… not to eat, merely to sniff. He’d never known a cat with such self-control.

Perhaps today would be a good day, after all.


	7. DECEMBER 19TH: THE ART DEPARTMENT

“No, no, no! Gauguin does NOT go next to Miro! Were you raised in a barn?”

“Bunny, why are you yelling at the cat?”

“Because you’re late, and Amin’s not in until 4pm, and I have fourteen cartons from Taschen to put away, that’s why. I’m dealin’ in perishables, here.”

“Sorr-eeeee!!! If you hadn’t noticed, it’s sleeting to beat the band out there. Jamie nearly skidded off the bridge driving us in —”

The tall Australian interrupted, his mood changing instantly from annoyed to concerned as he looked Sophie over. “Are you OK? Y’coulda called out, ya know, if it was that bad.”

The blonde scoffed and pushed her wet messy bangs out of her eyes. “Call out during the Christmas rush? I’d never hear the end of it. ‘Oh, teenagers these days, they don’t know how to cope with anything, one little snowflake and they panic’, that sort of thing.”

Bunny had to laugh, she’d scored a perfect imitation of some of the grouchier customers they’d had to deal with over time. Sophie had been volunteering at Knights And Pages since she was ten; Bunny had met her by literally falling over her as she sat in the middle of an aisle, poring over drawing books. She was fifteen now, and looking forward to being able to actually call herself an employee.

Petrov, bored now that he was no longer being engaged in scintillating conversation about Post-Impressionists and Surrealists, lashed his tail back and forth and wandered off in high dudgeon.


	8. DECEMBER 20TH: THE SCIENCE DIVISION

She had won the war, even if she’d had to give ground [or, more precisely, had to _seem_ to give ground] in several battles. But Seraphina’s department was better-stocked than it had been in years, with everything from Sascha’s picks for materials science, recommendations from Taras for both the bestsellers and forgotten classics of astronomy and physics, and her own zoology and meteorology selections.

Seraphina had sneakily allowed Jack to think he’d overruled her by cross-shelving Ruth Spiro’s “Baby Loves Science” children’s books alongside her beloved Kaku, Feynman, Penrose, McPhee, Muir and Carson titles. She personally thought it a brilliant idea, but couldn’t let that twerp think he knew better than she did.

She felt a twinge of sadness when she thought of Taras. His practical knowledge of astronomy weighed a lot more in her opinion than the suggestions of pushy sales reps trying to tout their latest catalogues. She knew, however, that he’d be moving on to better things at the university after the holidays were over. Yes, Taras would be missed.

Which brought to mind questions about what her own future held. Her father was settled nicely in his new life, thanks to her. Sascha had bloomed and blossomed ever since Seraphina had started giving her the authority to act as an assistant buyer, turning her love of tinkering and invention into a concrete research tool that would stand her in good stead. If Seraphina decided to return to active fieldwork, she could ask for no better than Sascha to step into her shoes here at Knights And Pages.

A furry body curled around her ankles.

“Would you miss me, Petrov?”

A trilling purr was her only reply.


	9. DECEMBER 21ST: THE LITERARY FICTION AREA

“Tall William! Jamie Bennett! To your posts, front and center. Murasaki waits for no man!”

Both boys groaned as they answered their department head’s summons. That pun was excruciatingly bad, even for their boss, who was known for bad wordplay.

“Why do I have to be Tall William this year?” grumbled Will, who stood barely an inch taller than Jamie’s five-foot-eight in stocking feet.

“No clue,” replied Jamie. “My mom says there’s always been a Tall William here as long as she could remember. A Christmas superstition.”

Mr. Qwerty fluttered - there was no other way to describe his unique way of locomoting - from shelf to shelf, his feet barely seeming to touch the ground as he stroked the spines of some of his favourite classics with affection. Shoppers browsed in the aisles in front, behind, and around him, and for all the attention he paid them, he might as well have been an invisible creature of fantasy and folklore. For Mr. Qwerty, the written word was more important than any human, other than those humans who produced the written word and those humans who took on the awesome responsibility of bookselling.

Petrov refused to be ignored, however; he leaped atop the shelving cart next to where Mr. Qwerty stood, meowing loudly. That got the fussy bespectacled man to emerge from his bibliophile’s reverie.

“Ah, Yule Cat! Claw us not, for as you can see, we all have new raiment!” He proudly tweaked his splendid bowtie, while Jamie and Will made unseen faces behind his back.

They were both careful, however, to make sure that Petrov saw that they too wore new bowties. 


	10. DECEMBER 22ND AND DECEMBER 23RD: HISTORY, POETRY AND DRAMA, ROMANCE

Any seasoned bookseller worth their salt knows that the final two days before Christmas Eve are a kind of calm-before-the-storm situation, and that less experienced staff might find intriguing ways of breaking the “hurry up and wait” tension. Thus no one who worked at Knights And Pages was surprised to observe, over those 48 hours:

  * A sword fight with NERF swords between Emma and Petter in the History section.
  * Monty, who worked in the Poetry & Drama section, and Doris, who worked in Romance, hotly debating in all seriousness whether “Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer” was an example of the epic form, and whether the Grandpa in the story would get married again.
  * Joanna and Madeleine NOT taking sides with their department mates.
  * Ombric, Nightlight, and Katherine, as the respective section heads involved, undecided as to whether they should interfere, resign, or go home with stress headaches.




	11. DECEMBER 24TH: THE SHOPOCALYPSE AND ITS AFTERMATH

The breakroom table was loaded with food, actual food, as well as candies and cakes. As was traditional, no one knew who had brought what dish, although a few guesses could be made. The only rule was that every dish had to be labelled with its ingredients, and that utensils for gluten-free food had to be kept far, far away from any other utensils.

All the section heads made scrupulously sure that employees had staggered breaks so that EVERYONE could partake in the buffet over the course of the day.

Finally the last customer was ushered out of the bookstore, and both understaff and higher-ups heaved a collective sigh of relief that they’d survived another holiday season.

Manny made sure that Petrov’s litter box was scooped, that both his food dishes and water dishes were full, and that the heat was on in the back office before everyone left for Christmas.

Later that night, moonbeams shone in through the skylights as the grey cat prowled the sales floor one more time before heading up the backstairs to his TRUE domain. 

Mister Lessmore, the proprietor of Knights And Pages, scooped Petrov up in loving arms, and they both snuggled down in the overstuffed armchair for a long winter’s nap.


	12. Author's Notes

Thanks for bearing with me for an extremely self-indulgent story, but I hope it pleases you.

The bookstore Knights And Pages is both an invention of my imagination, and a bit of an idealization of a bookstore where I used to work. I did not base either its staff or its layout on the bookstore I _**currently**_ own, although my staff all took turns beta'ing this and making sure I had enough coffee and cookies to finish the story.

* * *

DRAMATIS PERSONAE

[in order of appearance, with notes for their source material]

Manny, otherwise known as Tsar Lunanoff [GOC]

Petrov the store cat, based on North's faithful steed in NICHOLAS ST. NORTH AND THE BATTLE OF THE NIGHTMARE KING [GOC]

North, also known as Nicholas St. North [ROTG]

Phil the Yeti [ROTG]

Henrietta the Yeti [ROTG] [in several of my stories there are more than one gender of Yeti]

Dingle the Elf [ROTG]

Tooth [ROTG]

Pippa Chandler [ROTG] [I've given all the Burgess Believers surnames of their own in several of my stories]

Baethiana, also known as Baby Tooth [ROTG]

Vanish, a mini-fairy appearing on William Joyce's Instagram

Abelard, based on the Tooth Mouse in ROTG and named after the hero of the William Steig book [ABEL'S ISLAND](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/784726.Abel_s_Island)

Pitch Black [ROTG]

Fog, one of the kids in Santoff Claussen, [who likes swordfights [GOC]](https://riseoftheguardians.fandom.com/wiki/Fog)

Sage, based on my housemate DarkAngelOfShadows, who first showed me the movie RISE OF THE GUARDIANS in 2015

Jack Frost [ROTG]

Eleanor and Cynara, based on two of my former coworkers at the bookstore that inspired the physical layout of Knights And Pages; they were the Maiden and Mother to my Crone back in the day

Lucinda "Cupcake" Leslie [ROTG]

Caleb and Claude Belazair [ROTG]

Sanderson Mansnoozie [ROTG]

Bunny [ROTG]

Sophie Bennett [ROTG]

Amin, named for a musician friend of mine who used to drive around town in an SUV with action figures glued all over it

Seraphina, also known in the books as Emily Jane Pitchiner, but she's always Seraphina to me [GOC]

Taras, named for one of my best friends in college who was an astronomy buff and a huge DOCTOR WHO fan, who died in 2015

Sascha, one of the kids in Santoff Claussen, [who is a very gifted inventor [GOC]](https://riseoftheguardians.fandom.com/wiki/Sascha)

Will, known as Tall William in Santoff Claussen [GOC]

Jamie Bennett [ROTG]

Mr. Qwerty [GOC]

Emma Overland, fan name given to Jack's little sister [ROTG]

Petter, another one of the kids in Santoff Claussen who likes swordfights [GOC]

Monty Chandler [ROTG]

Doris Melia Fraxinus, which is one of the names I gave to The Spirit of the Forest in another fic of mine [GOC]

Joanna, named for my beloved partner who died in 1995

Madeleine, named for one of my regular customers in the bookstore I own now, who was especially fond of time travel romances, and who died in 2013

Ombric [GOC]

Nightlight [GOC]

Katherine [GOC] 

And... Mister Lessmore, named of course for the protagonist of[ THE FANTASTIC FLYING BOOKS OF MR. MORRIS LESSMORE](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13083239-the-fantastic-flying-books-of-mr-morris-lessmore), who is almost certainly an avatar for William Joyce himself.

_Everything in Morris Lessmore’s life, including his own story, is scattered to the winds._   
_But the power of story will save the day._

* * *

Dedicated to everyone who's ever had to work in retail during the "helliday" season, and offered as a distraction from this awful pandemic year of 2020.

\----sylph

**Author's Note:**

> Crossposted on [my Tumblr](https://sylphidine.tumblr.com/post/638423958517170176/rotg-knights-and-pages). Come follow me there!


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